UNI-CUB β: In No Way A Totally Superfluous Mobility Thing

Hate walking? Heck, who doesn’t. The fact is, mankind has been forced unfairly to evolve over the course of thousands of years to walk upright, and Honda thinks it’s about time we did something about it. That’s why they’ve unveiled their UNI-CUB β mobility device, which is basically like a Segway that doesn’t force you stand upright.

Granted, the UNI-CUB β is not an entirely new thing by any means. It’s been around since May 2012, but its slightly trimmed-down been making the rounds again with All-New ASIMO. UNI-CUB utilizes Honda Omni Traction Drive System to stay upright, which is derived from the same technology that allows ASIMO to, among other things, dance for the President of the United States.

Something like the UNI-CUB β would seem a lot more useful if it was marketed as something intended to help those with difficulties or disabilities, but it seems like it’s more or less being touted as a fancy thing for people to use in the office when they don’t feel like walking 20 feet to the coffee maker.

If you’d like to check out a demonstration, check out the video below. If you’re anything like us, then you had a really difficult time watching the women in the video slowly glide around on the UNI-CUB without hearing the song “Morning Train (Nine to Five).”

Conversely, the actual music in the video will probably make you want to break out your copy of Wii Fit Plus.

It’s not entirely clear how many more alterations the UNI-CUB β will need to undergo before we start seeing people tooling around on these things in major metropolitan areas. Presumably there will be a UNI-CUB γ, followed by a UNI-CUB δ, and then eventually a production-ready UNI-CUB ω. Maybe that version will allow you to lie down so you can nap while you’re on the go.

In the meantime, we might recommend an unusual alternative to futuristic personal mobility devices. It’s called walking.